2 high-speed train sets built for Wisconsin set to leave Milwaukee

In what appears to be the final chapter of an ill-fated venture in Milwaukee, Spanish train-maker Talgo is vacating its factory on the city’s north side, and its two unused high-speed train sets may soon take to the tracks.

The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee has received notice that Talgo will end its month-to-month lease agreement in the Century City development at N. 27th and W. Townsend streets.

“It appears that the trains will be leaving imminently,” city spokesman Jeff Fleming said Wednesday.

The company, which set up its North American headquarters at the site in 2010, could be winding down its office operations in a matter of weeks and be gone within 60 days. Of the dozens of workers involved in manufacturing train sets for Wisconsin and Oregon, only a few remain.

The city will also lose the $29,000 a month Talgo paid for renting half of the 300,000-square-foot building.

Talgo officials did not immediately return requests for comment about where the trains are going and why they are ending the lease.